Description

Although a pioneer in prefab housing, Norman Cherner is best known for the molded plywood seating line he created for the manufacturer Plycraft, which he ultimately sued the company over. After telling Cherner that his design for what is now known as the Cherner® Chair (1958) had been scrapped, Plycraft’s owner continued to produce it, claiming himself as the designer. The Chair’s popularity soared when it appeared in Norman Rockwell’s 1961 painting “The Artist at Work” on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. While Plycraft agreed to pay Cherner royalties, the line was out of production by the early 1970s. Then Cherner’s sons formed the Cherner Chair Company to revive the designs and produce them as their father originally intended. Constructed of laminated plywood of graduating thicknesses, from 5 ply at the perimeter edge of the seat to 15 ply at the slender waist, the design possesses exceptional structural strength and dramatic sculptural beauty. The arm is a single solid piece of bent beech with a walnut or ebony stain. This is the authentic Cherner Chair produced by the Cherner Chair company. Cherner Chair is a licensed trademark of Cherner Chair Company. Made in U.S.A.

Designer

Norman Cherner

U.S.A. (1920–1987)

A pioneer both in molded plywood and prefab housing, Norman Cherner studied and taught at the Columbia University Fine Arts Department and was an instructor at the Museum of Modern Art in New York from 1947 to 1949. Here he also explored the Bauhaus movement, embarking on a lifetime exploration of multidisciplinary design, from furniture, shelving, glassware, lighting and even toys ...